Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Heinrich IV in 2011 at the funeral of Otto von Habsburg in Vienna, Austria Credit – By János Korom Dr. from Wien, Austria – Kondukt in Wien (305), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24604547

IMPORTANT: All males of the House of Reuss were named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz (Older Line), the numbering covered all male children and the numbers increased until 100 was reached and then started again at 1. In the Reuss-Gera (Younger Line), the system was similar but the numbers increased until the end of the century before starting again at 1. Reuss-Köstritz was a cadet branch of the House of Reuss-Gera. This tradition was seen as a way of honoring Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI (reigned 1191 – 1197) who had benefitted the family. Therefore, the Roman numerals seen after names are NOT regnal numbers.

In August 1919, Germany’s first democratic constitution officially abolished royalty and nobility, and any privileges previously held.  However, former hereditary titles were and still are permitted as part of the surname. These surnames can then be inherited by a person’s children. Therefore, “Prince Reuss” is used as a surname.

Fürst/Prince was used for a reigning sovereign ruler or monarch. Non-reigning descendants of a Fürst are referred to in German as Prinz (prince) or Prinzessin (princess).

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Born at Ernstbrunn Palace (link in German) in Ernstbrunn, Austria on October 26, 1919, Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz was unofficially Head of the House of Reuss after 1945, and then officially in 1962 until his death in 2012. He was the eldest of the six children and the eldest of the three sons of Prince Heinrich XXXIX Reuss of Köstritz (link in German) and Countess Antonia of Castell-Castell.

Heinrich IV had five younger siblings:

  • Heinrich VI, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (1922 – 1942), unmarried, killed in action in the Siege of Leningrad during World War II
  • Amadea Caroline, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1923 – 2015), married Dr. Reinhold Sachs, had ? children
  • Gertrud Renata, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1924 – 2011), married Baron Henri-Charles-Alexandre Grand d’Esnon, had five children
  • Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (1927 – 2002), married Baroness Brigitte van Tuyll van Serooskerken, had three children
  • Elisabeth-Donata, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1932 – 2022), married Peter Coleman, Bishop of Crediton (UK), had four children

During World War II, Heinrich served as a 1st Lieutenant in the 24th Panzer Division (tanks) of the German Army. He was a Commander of the Order of Saint John (German: Johanniterorden), the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hospitaller, the oldest surviving chivalric order.

Originally, there were two Reuss principalities, both constituent states of the German Empire, the Principality of Reuss-Greiz and the Principality of Reuss-Gera. Both ceased to be monarchies in 1918, at the end of World War I. In 1927, upon the death of Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last reigning Prince Reuss of Greiz, the House of Reuss-Greiz became extinct and the claims to its titles passed to Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and the last reigning Prince Reuss of Gera. When Heinrich XXVII died in 1928, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera passed to his son Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera.

In August 1945, the childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was arrested by the Soviet military and has been missing ever since. He was likely imprisoned and killed at NKVD special camp Nr. 2, the former German concentration camp Buchenwald, which had been transformed into one of the post–World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany. The childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera had named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz his successor as the Head of the House of Reuss. Heinrich IV unofficially became Head of the House of Reuss in 1945 when Heinrich XLV went missing. In 1962, when Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was legally declared dead, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera went to Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz who officially became Head of House of Reuss.

Ernstbrunn Palace in Austria which the family still owns; Credit – Von Henry Kellner – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42911625

After World War II, Heinrich IV’s family estates in the state of Thuringia in Germany were now in Communist-controlled East Germany and the estates were confiscated. However, Ernstbrunn Palace, the summer estate in Austria remained under family control. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of Germany, the family regained some of the confiscated lands in Thuringia. In 1990, the family began a forestry operation on their regained land.

On June 10, 1954, Heinrich IV married Marie Luise, Princess of Salm-Horstmar (1918 – 2015). The couple had one son and three daughters:

  • Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (born 1955), current Head of the House of Reuss, married Johanna Raitz, Baroness von Frentz, had two sons and two daughters
  • Anna, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1957), married Phillip Baron von Hohenbuhl Ansitz Gleifheim
  • Karoline, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1959), married Carl Philipp, Baron von Hohenbuhel gennant Heufler zu Rasen
  • Esperance, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1962), married Johannes Ferdinand Count of Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau

On June 20, 2012, Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz died at Ernstbrunn Palace in Ernstbrunn, Austria at the age of 92, and was buried in the park of Ernstbrunn Palace. His only son Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz became Head of the House of Reuss.

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Works Cited

  • Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (2022) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_IV,_Prince_Reuss_of_K%C3%B6stritz (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Heinrich lV Reuß zu Köstritz, Fürst (2022) Geni. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Heinrich-lV-Reu%C3%9F-zu-K%C3%B6stritz-F%C3%BCrst-G1/6000000014594770830 (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Obituary – Fürst Heinrich IV Reuß (1919-2012) (2012) Eurohistory. Available at: http://erhj.blogspot.com/2012/07/furst-heinrich-iv-reu-1919-2012.html (Accessed: December 16, 2022)